Only April
by lovablegeek
Summary: [PreRENT] April is the only person who could make Mark wake up early to play in the snow. MarkApril [One shot]


"Mark."

Mark mumbled sleepily, not awake enough to really recognize the voice, or care who it was, for that matter. He started to roll over, but a hand shook his shoulder gently, insistently. "_Mark_."

Mark opened his eyes and found himself staring straight into April's brown eyes, her face an inch from his. She'd climbed up next to him on the bed and was leaning over him, one hand still on his shoulder. Her face broke into a smile as he did, and there really was no way he could be upset with her when she smiled like that. Even if she had woken him up far too early. There were worse things to wake up to than April's smile. "What time is it?" he asked groggily.

April shrugged. "The sun's up," she said, as if that were good enough reason for him to be up and fully awake. He sat up slowly, careful not to disturb Roger—in the winter the two of them took to sharing the bare mattress on the floor for warmth, but Roger got annoyed if anyone woke him up before he was ready, a fact Mark knew from experience. However, it usually took the equivalent noise of a cannon blast to wake Roger up any time before ten in the morning, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem with that.

"So… why are you in my room telling me this?" he asked at last. "Not that I mind… well, I mean, I would've liked to sleep a little later, but…"

"It snowed last night, Mark."

Mark gave her a blank look of absolute incomprehension. "And…?" Knowing April as well as he did, he should have had a clue where this was going, but he'd just woken up. She'd give him some leeway for being a little dense.

"Come out and play with me?" she asked hopefully.

"This couldn't wait until… I don't know, I was awake?"

"It might've melted by then."

"Somehow I doubt that," Mark muttered softly. It was freezing cold in the loft, a fact which he was rapidly becoming aware of now that he'd thrown off the protection of the blankets. But he was awake now, and besides… April was just sitting there, smiling at him, and he never had been able to resist that smile.

"Alright," he sighed. "Just give me a few minutes to get dressed."

April grinned and leaned forward to kiss his cheek quickly before sliding off the mattress and getting to her feet. "Thank you, Mark! I'll go run and get my boots on!"

Mark watched her for a second as she bounced out of the room, full of energy and cheer as always, and shook his head slightly, still smiling. Only for April…

* * *

"Why didn't you just drag Maureen out here with you?" Mark asked, watching April as she sat at the edge of a fountain in the park, carefully prodding the layer of ice with her gloved finger to see how much it had frozen. It didn't break when she pressed on it, so it had to have been more than just a thin layer—not surprising, Mark thought, given the temperature. Even with the sun out, it was cold enough that his fingers were starting to go numb despite the gloves he wore—although, granted, those gloves were rather worn and had a few holes in them.

"It's_ Maureen_," April responded. "Do you really think she'd wake up before noon to come out here in the cold? That's like asking why you didn't wake Roger up to come along with us."

"Because he'd have hit me?" Mark said with a grin.

"Exactly." She stood up from the fountain, dusting off her gloves, and tilted her head to one side, considering him. "Y'know, it never ceases to amaze me that you're still friends with him."

Mark blinked. "Roger? Why?"

She shrugged. "You're just… different, is all. Doesn't seem like you ought to get along with him as well as you do, especially when he's in his bitchy moods." Suddenly, she gave him a bright grin, like the sun breaking through a covering of clouds, and stepped forward to put an arm around his shoulders. "Maybe it's that you never decide to just smack him. I know I would if I had to put up with him as much as you do. You're too nice."

Mark frowned at her, a little baffled. "Um… is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Oh, it's a good thing," she reassured him, "for the most part. Although…" She trailed off, her eyes flickering over the park distractedly—the trees and walkways and benches all covered in snow, and the two of them the only ones around given the time and the temperature.

Mark waited for her to continue the thought, figuring she'd just been distracted by something, but when she didn't he prompted, "Although…?"

April shook her head dismissively. "Nothing. Just thinking." Before he could protest, let alone stop her, she reached around him and unwound the scarf from around his neck, jumping away from him quickly to keep him from snatching it back.

"April!" Mark said, trying to grab it back from her. She took a step backward, holding it just out of his reach as she fended him off with her other arm. "It's freezing out here, you can't just—"

"Oh, come on, Mark, lighten up. You won't freeze to death, and…" She paused, smiling at him faintly, though still holding him at arm's length with the scarf dangling from her other hand. "If you can get the scarf back from me on your own, you'll get a prize."

He stared at her skeptically. "A prize? Are you kidding… What kind of prize?"

April's smile broadened just a little. "A kiss, of course."

Mark sighed, and rolled his eyes. "My best friend is a complete lunatic," he muttered under his breath, and her only response was an amused giggle. He hesitated a moment, then caught her by the wrist nearest him and pulled her to him. April squeaked and tried to pull away, but he quickly caught her other forearm with his free hand and slid down to her fingers to pull the scarf from her. "Hah," he said triumphantly as he wound the scarf around his neck once more, giving her his best superior look (not all that effective, to tell the truth, but he tried). "Now I think you—"

April hadn't pulled away once he released her wrist to put the scarf back on, and she leaned closer to him once he'd settled the striped scarf around his neck, cutting him off before he could finish the sentence. It was a real kiss, longer and sweeter than he'd expected, and Mark drew a quick breath, his hand starting to slip around her waist…

She pulled back just as abruptly, with a quick flash of a smile. "Now you see what happens when you're willing to come out and have a little fun?"

Mark pressed his gloved fingers to his lips, still half in shock that she'd really kissed him. "I'll have to do this more often then," he murmured softly, and was rewarded with the sound of April's laughter.


End file.
